5 players who had a scintillating start to their IPL careers

The euphoria surrounding an Indian Premier League game is just unparalleled and it never fails to fascinate the fans. Be it a high-scoring humdinger or a low-scoring thriller, each match has its own twists and turns that keeps the fans at their seat's edge.

Most of the matches are played in front of the packed stadiums, which offers a festive mood throughout the game. Over the last decade, almost all the big names of world cricket have played under the banner of an IPL franchise.

These players have lit up the tournament with their exemplary performances and made a mark for themselves in the grandest T20 stage of all. A few of them have gone on to dominate from their very first game in the league, putting up an excellent show in their debut for the respective franchises.

Let us now look at five of those unforgettable debuts in the history of the most competitive cricket league in the world-the IPL:

#1 Jasprit Bumrah vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Bumrah's rise was meteoric

April 4, 2013

Jasprit Bumrah made his IPL debut as a nineteen-year-old for the Mumbai Indians against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru. His slingy action made life difficult for the RCB batsmen, as they were unable to read his deliveries.

His first IPL victim was Virat Kohli, a prized wicket indeed and then followed it up with the wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair. Bumrah eventually finished with the figures of 3/32 in his four overs, helping Mumbai restrict the Royal challengers to a modest total of 156-5.

The Mumbai Indians were looking good for most parts of the chase, but eventually fell short by just two runs. A heartbreak for debutant Bumrah, nevertheless he had an impressive debut with the ball claiming the all-important wicket of Virat Kohli as his first IPL wicket.

#2 Doug Bollinger vs Rajasthan Royals

Bollinger was a fiery pacer in his heydays

April 3, 2010

Doug Bollinger made his IPL debut for the Chennai Super Kings against the Rajasthan Royals in Chennai. Murali Vijay’s astonishing innings of 127(56) took the CSK’s total to a record 246-5.

Bollinger, playing his first IPL match, took two wickets for 15 runs in his four overs. He claimed the all-important wicket of the in-form Shane Watson in the sixteenth over and swung the match in Chennai’s favour.

Bollinger also took the wicket of Abhishek Jhunjhunwala in the penultimate over to restrict the Royals well within the target. Bollinger was also brilliant in the field, as he took a spectacular catch near the boundary to remove the dangerous Yusuf Pathan. That catch is till date one of the tournament’s best. Rajasthan came close to the target of 247, but eventually lost by 23 runs.

#3 Andrew Tye vs Rising Pune Supergiant

Andrew Tye had a scintillating debut

April 14, 2017

Andrew Tye made his IPL debut for the Gujarat Lions against the Rising Pune Supergiant in Rajkot. The Aussie accomplished a rare feat on his debut, claiming a hattrick in the first three deliveries off the 20th over during Pune’s innings.

Tye took the wickets of Ankit Sharma and Manoj Tiwary before bowling out Shardul Thakur for his hattrick. He finished with five wickets on his debut, having taken two wickets earlier in Pune’s innings. The Gujarat Lions comfortably chased down the target of 172 in just 18 overs and won the match.

Tye was the Man of the match for his impressive five wickets. A ‘Dream debut’ in the IPL for Tye, as he became the first player ever to claim a hat-trick on the debut.

#4 Michael Hussey vs Kings XI Punjab

Mr.Cricket's IPL debut was a memorable oneApril 19, 2008

Michael Hussey made his IPL debut for the Chennai Super Kings against the Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. It was also the first ever IPL match for the CSK. Hussey scored a scintillating century-116*(54), that included eight fours and nine sixes.

This took the CSK’s total to 240-5 in 20 overs. The KXIP’s innings was anchored by the half-centuries from Kumar Sangakkara and James Hopes. But eventually they fell short of the target by 33 runs and the Super Kings won their first ever IPL game convincingly, courtesy Michael Hussey’s heroics. Mr.Cricket was the Man of the match for his brilliant century that guided Chennai to victory.

#5 Brendon McCullum vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

McCullum's pyrotechnics was what made the IPL a bonanza

April 18, 2008

Brendon McCullum made his IPL debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru. This was not just McCullum’s first game, but the first ever match in the history of IPL.

The New Zealand batsman got the IPL off to a flying start with a resounding inning of 158*(73), which included 10 fours and 13 sixes. This propelled KKR’s total to 222-3 in 20 overs.

RCB’s chase was so poor that they were bowled out for just 82 runs in 15.1 overs. The Kolkata Knight Riders therefore won the first ever IPL match by a huge margin of 140 runs, thanks mainly to McCullum’s heroics. The Kiwi batsman was awarded the Man of the match for his onslaught. It was a dream start to the IPL!